Improved book-rack



UNITED STATES DIOCLESIAN LEWIS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PATENT OEEICE.

IMPROVED BOOK-RACK.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,102, dated December 9, 186.2.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DIooLEsIAN LEWIS, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Book-Rack; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists in, iirst, the combination, with a rack similar in form and construction to an ordinary ladder, of a vibrating frame or brace, which is hung at or near the center of the said rack, and a strap one end of which is fastened to the foot of the said vibrating frame, and the other, passing under the foot of the rack, is hooked onto the different rounds of the ladder, as may be necessary in order to give the proper slope to the said rack, as hereinafter more fully set forth; second, the combination, with the said rack, of a bar for supporting the book, said bar being supplied with hooks for hooking it on the rounds of the rack, as hereinafter' set forth;.

third, the combination, with the said rack and bar, of vibrating fingers or clamps, which are fastened on the said bar in an inclined position, so that they may be operated to hold open the book, as hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of my improved book-rack. Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing the 'parts to the left of the line x a: as drawn through Fig. 1.

1 1 are the two upright pieces of the rack.

2 2 2 are the rounds.

3 is the vibrating frame or brace, hung in the uprights or posts 1 at 4 4. p

5 is the strap, furnished with a hook, 6, to hook on the rounds of the rack.

7 is the bar on which the book rests. It is held in position by hooks 8 8, which pass around to the rear of the round 2 and hold the bar firmly in position.

9 9 are fingers or clamps,which are pivoted on the bar 7 inian inclined position and are used to keep the book open.

It is well known that much injury has been occasioned by the habit of bending ovei` a book to read it when it is lying on a desk or table, as by doing this the shoulders and head are thrown forward so as to cramp the chest, thus in time` giving a very unhealthy and awkward stoop to the shoulders, and, as is supposed, sometimes hastening or even producing consumption and other painful and fatal diseases. The object of my invention is toobviate the necessity of thus stooping or bending over to read a book by lifting it up so that the page faces the reader without such stooping. It is useful to hold a large book,l which it would otherwise become fatiguing to hold.

When it is necessary to use several books, at one time, the rack furnishes aready means of holding two of them open at the proper place, while a third may, if necessary, be held in the hand-as, for instance, in the study of a foreign language, where it is common to have a grammar, a dictionary, and the book from which the student is reading all open and in use at one time or alternately.

The angle at which the book stands may be varied to suit the reader by moving the hook Iwhich is on the end of the strap 5 up or down.

By moving it up the book approaches more nearly to a vertical position, and by moving it down the. reverse.

I claim- 1.-'Ihe combination of the rack 1 2, brace 8, and strap 5, as hereinbefore set forth.

2. 'Ihe combination, with the rack 1 2, of the bar 7, as described.

3. The combination, with the rack 1 2 and bar 7, of the fingers 9 9, for the purpose and in the manner set forth.

DIOOLESIAN LEVIS.

Witnesses:

F. W. HURD, HENRY J. STEVENS. 

